I received an offer from Merrick Bank for a pre-selected VISA card with a $900 credit limit. Since my credit is not in the best of shape, will they check the credit bureaus and then deny me credit, or are they a liberal bank? Don't need another frivilous inquiry on my report. Thanks, Mila
Don't know about this bank, but my guess is that they are in fact going to pull a credit report, if they in fact sent you a pre-screened offer. That means they already contacted the credit bureau for your name and address. If you are using a monitoring service, you might be able to get the extra inquiry off that way. What might be a better idea if you are worried about credit score and inquiries, is to pull 3 updated reports from each bureau. Then with copies in hand, contact local banks and credit unions - show them the credit reports with the scores and ask them if it is good enough for a card or loan, if they say no you saved yourself an inquiry, if yes, then to seal the deal they have to pull their own credit report. You may check whopulledmycredit doing google search, that site shows what bureau pulled on what business for which state you are in.
Merrick is very easy to get. If you have a preapproval from them, your 99% sure to be approved. They will pull a CRA though.
Merrick is a good card. My wife has had one for approx 1.5 years and she has not had any problems. The customer service is great. She was pre-approved for $750 and has increased to $1750 since getting the card. Pay on time and your credit line will increase.
